BY MONICA SHOWALTER Posted 12/29/2005 Alone among big oil, Exxon Mobil (XOM) isn’t backing down from a confrontation with Venezuela. Venezuela’s government says all foreign investors must accept “mixed company” arrangements by Dec. 31 under a 2001 law. Other firms have reluctantly “migrated” to new state-dominated oil production joint ventures,

By Monica Showalter John D. Todd, chairman of The Todd Corporation in Wellington, New Zealand, is a big fish in a small pond. And the 74-year-old head of the family-owned energy conglomerate plans to continue getting bigger. Forbes estimates his Todd Corporation is worth at least $1 billion. The fortune was launched four

By Monica Showalter An oil magnate from Russia offers back-up supplies if the Middle East turns off its spigots. If the Middle East goes up in flames, the U.S., Europe and much of Asia will need to find alternative sources of energy to replace the shortfall. The state of Alaska is